Beneath Dying Skies
by coffeeismycatalyst
Summary: Elsa tries to save the life of an injured and incapacitated Jack Frost. A story about how Elsa saves Jack's life for a change. [Jack/Elsa]
1. Of Weightlessness

_Summary: Elsa tries to save the life of an injured and incapacitated Jack Frost._

* * *

There was a storm coming.

That summer evening was clouding over quickly and the sky churned black and brooding, so Elsa hurried. Dinner preparations would be ready within the hour and Anna was no where to be found. Servants had last seen the princess heading towards the fruit orchards.

Honestly.

Her sister could be such a child sometimes climbing trees at her age, Elsa thought to herself as she entered the fruit orchards outside the castle's courtyard. When she did finally find her sister hanging in a tree, Elsa was not amused.

To be perfectly correct, Elsa found Anna dangling at the top of one of the tallest tree in the orchard, clinging to a branch with all her might.

"Anna!" Elsa called. "The Royal Council will be dining with us later tonight. Come down here!"

"Wait," Anna told her, eyes fixated on something on the ground which Elsa could not see from where she stood but Elsa could see that her sister was trying to reach for something. "Hang on."

The wind was picking up and Elsa shook her head. It was going to rain soon. "Really, Anna. Must you act like such a child..."

"No, really," Anna insisted. "I've almost got this..."

Eventually Elsa watched as a Anna snagged her elbow around a bent, wooden staff. She then proceeded to descend the tree, ensuring that she took the easiest, safest route down considering her arms were occupied with this staff she now held.

Anna jumped down the last branch and held the staff out proudly for Elsa to see. It was a shepherd's crook. Curiously Elsa glided her hand across the length of it. It was cold as ice.

"You'll never believe this," Anna began. "This staff just fell out of the sky while I was out here. Pretty wild, huh?"

Elsa stayed quiet and when Anna looked at her, she realized Elsa was looking right back with a gaze that was completely unfathomable. It was almost as if she was in pain from trying to conceal her distress.

Before Anna could ask her what was wrong, Elsa rounded on her feet. She scanned the orchard for any signs of a white-haired boy she had once known as a young girl.

Jack Frost.

Long ago, Elsa had encountered Jack. Every winter the boy would visit and Elsa recalled how she would look forward to it. They would play games in the snow together. Have snowball fights. Sledding. Ice skating.

Then the day after Anna had been accidentally sideswiped in the head by Elsa's touch of ice, all that fun had come to an abrupt end and it was only a matter of time before Jack Frost stopped visiting her entirely.

But Elsa never forgot those memories. Or this staff he always carried with him.

"Do you remember Jack Frost?" Else suddenly asked her sister.

Anna made a face. "That imaginary friend of yours?"

"He wasn't!" Elsa insisted, blushing furiously at the thought of having an imaginary friend. "You never believed but..." And then more quietly, "He _was_ real."

Anna quickly put together what Elsa was trying to say. "And you think this—," she shook the staff that remained in her hands. "Was his?"

It was definitely his staff.

Elsa nodded. She would recognize it anywhere. He never went anywhere without it. Elsa fastened her eyes around the staff. She looked uncertain for a moment, the faintest touch of fear clenching her jaw.

Something _very_ terrible had happened.

* * *

Jack stepped forward, placing one foot in front of the other. He took another tottering step and nearly collapsed when his foot could no longer support his weight.

"Come on," he rasped to himself, struggling to hold himself upright on one knee. He rose onto his feet.

In hindsight, taking on the King of Nightmares alone had not been the smartest idea but Jack didn't see any other option at the time. He refused to remain a bystander any longer while Pitch continued to harass a lost child wandering in the woods, feasting on his fears.

Jack intervened. He created a very controlled and very intense blizzard to circle around Pitch long enough for Jack to safely guide the child back to nearby kingdom of Arendelle and out of danger.

And Pitch had been absolutely furious with him.

Then it happened.

One moment Jack had been riding the winds through the mountains of Arendelle. The next, the darkness had knocked the air from out of his lungs. The attack had blind-sided him. It zapped his strength and by luck alone when he dropped out of the sky, he had landed on soft ground.

In his disorienting fall, the staff slipped from his hand and out of reach so when he did hit solid ground, he struck it at full impact.

Jack didn't recall much of the actual fall itself. Only that when he finally woke up, he lay there for moment, not quite remembering why he was there. He eventually took a deep breath and pulled himself onto his hands and knees, finally managing to stagger to his feet again.

Jack was exhausted from the effort of trudging forward. He bowed his head and felt as something wet dripped from his brow and splatter against the ground.

He turned his head toward the skies to see that the storm which had been brewing overhead had finally begun to spill with rain. Rain continued to drip down his face and when Jack wiped it away with the back of his hand, he frowned.

This wasn't good. He was out of his element and much too vulnerable out here.

He had to find his staff.

Jack took a short breath, then another. He focused on an apple hanging by the nearest tree that grew near him. Deep breaths hurt too much so he made short, erratic gasps. It was getting strangely harder to breath.

The apple blurred in dizzying circles and Jack closed his eyes. It was not for long because he collapsed to the ground completely. He was still awake when he heard his name being called.

"Jack?"

Jack was struck by the strained and frantic tone of the woman's voice. He was confused for a moment, not understanding who he was seeing when he forced his eyes open. All around it was raining and the skies were darkening.

The young woman standing over him had traces of snow encrusted in her braided hair. Her eyes were a startling shade of ice and it did not take that long for Jack to recognize who she was.

Elsa.

How she had grown since the last time Jack had last seen her as a young girl.

The woman looked over him, pale as snow - which admittedly, really wasn't that odd considering her unique abilities. She looked over Jack, then glanced down at herself quickly before returning her eyes to Jack.

"Jack Frost?" she asked quietly, seeming unsure if he recognized her. "It's...Elsa."

Jack was flat on his back. He tried to sit up a little so that he could get a better look at Elsa who was currently leaning over him. He felt sick being without his staff this long. _Really sick._ Mortal fear flooded him. Jack swallowed hard, his stomach twisting at the sudden agony of his aching body.

His eyes flashed to meet hers. "Hey," he said, being unable to think clearly of anything better to say.

Elsa continued to rove her eyes over him as if searching for any signs of injury. He seemed in pain and yet, there was no visible injuries which Elsa could see.

"Are you hurt?" Elsa kneeled down now to get a better look. She tried to keep her tone as even as she could.

Jack closed his eyes and shook his head, trying to ignore the world that was spinning around him. It was getting hard to continue thinking clearly.

Elsa was quiet now and Jack was relieved for the momentary silence. His head was pounding and there was a sharp, throbbing pain in the back of his head. He must have hit it pretty hard when he had hit the ground.

The cold rain that fell over him felt numb on his bare skin.

It startled him when he suddenly felt Elsa tuck her hand under his shoulder, trying to lift him off the ground.

"Come inside," Elsa told him but her attempt to move him caused Jack to dig his fingers into the dirt spread under them and gasp in pain.

The ragged gasp that tore from Jack's throat sent an icy dagger into Elsa's own stomach at the realization that he was without a doubt hurt.

When she saw Jack's eyes slip closed again, she turned her head towards the open air. "Anna!" she tried calling her sister's name whom she thought was still in the apple orchards, but she must have already returned to the castle to change her clothes to something more formal before dinner that night. "ANNA!"

Jack's eyes opened again quickly and he took another pained gasp. Elsa immediately turned her eyes back towards the boy whom she was helpless to comfort.

Around her the wind howled and the rain had completely soaked through her clothes. She shivered not from the cold but from fear or not knowing what to do but she refused to leave Jack alone like this.

"ANNA!" she hollered again for her sister.

Jack's eyes finally flashed to meet hers and he found the strength to reach over and grab Elsa's face with one hand. "Elsa," he said tiredly. "Relax."

Her eyes immediately turned to meet his.

"No, Jack. No!" she tried to explain to him frantically. Anna. _Anna had his staff!_ "You don't understand."

"I just need a moment to catch my breath," he told her. _"Relax."_

Elsa looked lost for a moment, then her gaze sharpened as if she had just been reminded that she was the Queen of Arendelle. She blinked and turned away from Jack's hand, feeling utterly embarrassed that she had been caught in the embrace of panic.

Elsa took a deep breath and fell silent, but she still had her eyes on Jack whose eyes slipped close. He must have kept them shut a little longer than he had planned because when Elsa spoke again, he jumped.

"I didn't think I would ever see you again," she told him but she could not ignore the chilling way the edges of Jacks clothes began to fray at the seams. It was as if he was falling apart before her eyes. Her brows creased in concern.

It took Jack a moment for him to fully understand what Elsa was trying to say. "What?"

"When we were younger," Elsa continued, focusing only on keeping Jack awake now. She continued to talk to him if only to keep him from closing his eyes again. It would only be a matter of time before Anna came back for her. She _had_ to. "Don't you remember all the games we used to play in the snow? Remember when..."

An odd smile pulled at his lips as Jack listened to Elsa recount the story of when the two of them had been ice skating together in the frozen foyer insider her family's castle back when her parents were still alive. So she did remember.

The bland smile Jack wore quickly disappeared. Another wave of nausea hit him and it was worse than the last.

The pain he felt was increasing and now he swore his hearing was going off kilter too. Elsa sounded very far away and Jack lurched forward, not wanting to be left alone. Suddenly his hand was surrounded gently by something warm and firm, and he glanced down to see Elsa's pale, elegant fingers wrapped around his.

"I won't be gone long," Elsa assured him, unable to continue watching Jack struggle to hold on like this. "But if you can just hang on a little while, I'll be right back. I have to find my sister."

There was little reaction from Jack, which worried her. His eyes were open but barely focused on her. She shuddered as she held onto his gaze, seeing the pain, exhaustion and underlying fear that laid behind them.

"Wait for me," Elsa told him and she wished her voice wasn't shaking so much but after a beat of silence, she rose to her feet and turned her gaze toward the castle, racing along the path leading to it. Her feet pounded against the ground, splashing mud on her dress.

Before turning the corner out of the orchard, she cast a quick glance back at Jack.

Her heart nearly stopped and she froze, refusing to take her eyes off the dark man that suddenly appeared.

Towering nearby and looming with sick fascination over a defenseless Jack was the Bogeyman.

* * *

_Reviews are better than chocolate and chocolate is better than life. You make the connection._


	2. Of Limitations

_A/N: I really did appreciate all who took the time to read the last chapter. So thank you! Ahem...and now without further ado, on to the next chapter._

* * *

"All alone and without any way to defend yourself. It pains me to see you reduced to this, _Jack_," Pitch practically hissed his name and despite all of Jack's efforts, he found it impossible to stand up and confront the Nightmare King on equal footing. He simply did not have the strength. In frustration, Jack pressed the back of his head against the rain-sodden ground and responded by mumbling something inaudible under his breath.

"What was that?" Pitch taunted, leaning his towering form closer to pitch. He tilted his head slightly so his ear was hovering over Jack's lips and continued, "I didn't quite hear that."

On cue Jack gathered a wad of frost in the back of his throat and spit it directly into his ear. Ice sprayed across the side of Pitch's face and the man calmly stepped away, wiping away the frost with a brush of his hand.

"Fine," Pitch said as he straightened to his full height. His tone was soft but dangerous. "So that's how you want to play._"_

Before Jack could try to defend himself, Pitch placed his foot over Jack's chest and stomped down. Hard. The weight was heavy enough that Jack gave a shuttering gasp. He refused to allow Pitch the satisfaction reacting to the pain any further and bit his lip to quiet himself from screaming.

Jack clawed at the foot that had him pinned down. He struggled to free himself but Pitch had the upper hand. Pitch ground the heel of his foot into the center of Jack's stomach. Pain ripped within Jack and his arms slumped. He couldn't do it. He fell back into the ground, gasping. His own breathing pounded so loudly in his ears that he almost couldn't hear Elsa screaming.

Not at him.

She was screaming at Pitch.

"_GET AWAY FROM HIM!"_

It must have been as much as a surprise to Pitch as it was for Jack when Elsa suddenly sent a barrage of ice daggers that seared through the air toward Pitch. Jack could feel the cool rush of ice gust past him as the ice hit Pitch.

In an instant, Pitch's fury boiled over. All Jack could hear was infuriated screaming.

Pitch's foot lifted from his chest and suddenly Jack could breath again. He rolled his body onto his stomach, earning some distance between him and Pitch. What he didn't anticipate was for the sudden movement to send a dizzying rush to his head and he closed his eyes, waiting for the world to stop clouding around him.

"_No...!"_

Jack's eyes snapped open at the sound of Elsa's fear-stricken scream.

He watched as Elsa's lips parted in terror when she saw Pitch swoop upon her, black sand dripping from his palms which were full of poisoned dreams of frightened children and fusing into the shape of an arrow aimed directly at Elsa.

"Pitch, don't!" Jack called. He tried to move toward Pitch who continued to advance toward her._ This wasn't her fight. _"Leave her out of this!"

But Pitch ignored his cries to stop.

Being without his staff had taken its serious toll on Jack's strength. His stamina was nearly gone and in spite of how exhausted he was, he found the strength to freeze the rainwater that had fallen on the ground, coating the grass with the thickest ice he could muster and immediately froze the ice around Pitch, freezing him in mid-step.

His feet were frozen solid to the ground.

What he saw was Elsa's eyes open, wide with realization at the possibility of what Jack had done. Or maybe it was at the realization of what was about to happen.

Pitch shattered the ice as easily enough, twisting one foot out of its icy trap. Then the other.

Then he aimed the arrow at Jack; and now Elsa was running towards him. She was running faster than Jack had ever known her to run.

Jack shook his head, hoping she would notice. He tried to tell her to stop but was worried his voice, as weak as he felt, would fail to be heard. Why did he feel so protective over Elsa? It was irrational but despite all reasoning, Jack tried. He outstretched his hand toward her, signaling her with a gesture to stop.

_Don't come any closer. _

Elsa stopped.

That was all Jack saw before lifting his gaze to greet Pitch and a smirk crawled across Jack's features.

As Pitch pulled back on the arrow forcefully in his grip until the gray knuckles turned white from the strain. Jack's gaze dropped back to Elsa who seemed frozen where she stood.

"I win," Pitch said in pride before finally the arrow fused of black sand disintegrated willingly before Jack's eyes.

The unexpected sign of mercy that Pitch had shown by tossing aside his arrow that could have caused a fatal blow could only mean that Pitch had schemed something far more sinister. Before he could question it further, Pitch lifted Jack by the collar of his hooded sweatshirt and slammed him back against the ground, knocking the air from his lungs and he spoke that chilling statement again.

_"I win."_

Again Pitch lifted Jack up and slammed him back into the ground.

"You think you _know_ fear, boy?" Pitch asked him. He lifted Jack up one last time, hovering his lips close to his ear. His lips curved into a thin smile. "Wait until you see what I do to that precious girl standing behind us. Wait until you hear her screaming with fear. It will be like nothing you've ever heard before. I wonder, Jack. Will your name be the one she calls?"

Jack tore his eyes away from him and fixated his gaze back on Elsa before Pitch dropped him again against the ground.

He had to try and stop him.

That was the only goal on Jack's mind. It was the only thought he had when he hastily raked a fistful of frozen ice he had materialized on the ground moments ago and clenched his fist around it to make a ball, sending the ball of ice to fly directly at Pitch's head.

Pitch reeled around and struck Jack with a heavy kick.

A sharp pain exploded just below Jack's ribs and the pain radiated through his entire chest. Jack swallowed hard, his stomach twisting at the sudden affliction of agony. He clutched the wound against his chest. Fear boiled deep inside him after the threat he made on Elsa.

Jack found the strength within himself then to pull himself on his feet.

He _had_ to stop him.


	3. Of Traces

_A/N: Thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed or favorited or followed this story. And to whoever said, "PLEASE GO ON. I check everyday to see if Chapter 3 is up and I just can't wait any longer," I give this chapter a special dedication to you. Because that was the review that actually inspired me to finish this next chapter.  
_

* * *

Anna crossed to the other side of the side-foyer and opened a window. The air outside was cold and fresh and rain had almost stopped completely.

What little fell in heavy _pitter-pat _speckles across the window pane.

_Pitter-pitter!_

_Pitter-pat!_

Anna took a huge breath, filling her cheeks till they puffed out and held the air deep inside her chest. Then exhaled, shutting the window behind her once again. She held her forehead to the glass and kept it pressed there.

"Really, Elsa...," she grumbled under her breath. When she spoke, her hot breath fogged over the cool glass. She covered her thumb over the foggy, glass panel and drew a smiley-face onto it.

Anna rotated her head, still holding it against the glass when her eye caught sight of the Shepard's crook she found. At the moment it dangled unpretentiously from a lonely coat rack. The Royal Council was slowly beginning to fill the dining room and though servants were there to accommodate them with appetizers and drinks, it was very unusual for Queen Elsa to arrive late for anything.

"_You_ sent me here. _You _told me to get read before tonight's dinner with the Royal Council...so. _Where in Arendelle's hills are you, Elsa?"_

In a single, swift movement, Anna whirled around on her heel, left the Shepard's crook remaining on its hook and stormed outside empty-handed to find her sister.

* * *

"Why if I'm not in the presence of the infamous Snow Queen herself. How _delightful_."

Elsa glared at the bogeyman who drifted towards her. Her teeth were clenched with a taste of bitter ice lingering under her breath. She stood straight and breathed slowly, keeping her elegant composure as the bogeyman moved towards her and stood a few steps away.

The bogeyman raised his eyebrows, as if amused by her cool, steady defiance.

"Where are my manners?" he continued. "It's the least I can do to introduce myself to you. After all, it's an honor knowing you of all people believe in me. I'm known around the world as Pitch Black."

For a brief moment, Elsa lowered her hands. The ice building under her flesh subdued slightly. She forced her power back, clearing her throat stiffly. "Let Jack go," she ordered.

"But your _majesty_," Pitch said threateningly, pointing a bony, grey-skinned hand with feigned innocence to his chest. "Jack is free to do _whatever_ he pleases..._whenever _he wants. Isn't that right, Jack?" he called over his shoulder with an amusement, rich and deep.

Jack remained unnervingly still.

"But he can't," Pitch said with feigned contemplation. "It seems he's lacking the ability to heal himself appropriately after what — I must admit — was something of a rather nasty fall no thanks to me."

Elsa ignored the way her heart hammered in her chest. She told herself it was anger. Not fear. And she poised her hands, ready to strike if Pitch dared make another move towards _either_ of them.

Then Pitch lowered his voice so softly that only she could hear him when he said, "All I meant to teach that boy was a lesson about meddling in other peoples' plans. If only Jack had what he so desperately needs right now."

Elsa already knew. A thread of anxiety crept through her as she lowered her defense again for the second time.

"His staff."

A manic gleam crossed Pitch's face, shadowing his yellow eyes. "You know where it is?"

"I...," Elsa said, scanning the air, back and forth between Pitch and Jack, wary and watchful. "I do."

The smile decorating Pitch's face closed over his teeth, but his lips were still curled, thin and dangerous. "Then if I were you, I'd go fetch it before we continue to waste our time here. Jack's time is _ticking..." _he told her, sweeping one, elongated finger in the air and moving it back and forth like a swinging pendulum. "What are you doing about it, Elsa?"

Pitch paused now, allowing the gravity of what he said to weigh down, letting them grow heavy as a broken heart.

Elsa retreated another step back. Then another. _Don't do anything_.

Then she turned her back on Jack _again _and hurried back to the castle.

She had to find Jack's staff...

...she had to find Anna...

And before reaching the edge of the the fruit orchards, it startled her when the very person she was trying to eagerly to find came crashing into her.

"Elsa!"

Anna grabbed her sister by the shoulder, drawing her into an embrace — then immediately pushed her back. "Where have you been! The Royal Council is already being seating and after you had the nerve to lecture me, you're still—!"

"Anna, I don't have time for this," Elsa cut her sister short, tilting her head thoughtfully but didn't wait for an answer. "That staff you found earlier...where is it?"

* * *

Pitch scratched the underside of his chin and twisted his back so that he could face Jack. A bitter frown crossed his face.

It seemed Jack had passed out.

_And what was the fun in that?_

"Wake up, Jack," Pitch whispered into the boy's ear, close enough that Jack was roused by the warmth of breath. The touch that followed came without warning. Uncomfortably hot fingers skirted the back of his neck. Jack jerked away, scrabbling at the grass beneath him, instinctively searching for the presence of his staff only to recall he was without it.

Jack moved to stand and managed to only kneel. He felt the ground sway beneath him as he steadied his balance. He clutched a hand to his head, as if doing so might stop the world from spinning. The fact he found the strength to stand seemed to come to a shock to Pitch, whose frown only deepened. The bogeyman's eerie, yellow eye wandered up and down the entirety of Jack's posture.

He looked frail and vulnerable without the support of his staff. It was his source of strength and security, Pitch knew. In many ways, the Winter spirit was as easy for the bogeyman to frighten as any ordinary human child would be. His fears were just as raw and real.

Pitch was relishing this moment.

"I promise you this," Pitch told him. "When your little Snow Queen returns, I'm going to make her scream and call out your name. Then I'm going to make her cry. And once you realize there is nothing you can ever do to help her, I'm going to get rid of you. Right in front of her."

It was amazing how such an idle threat could send Jack's heart racing in a such a frenzy, though one would never be able to tell. The boy kept such a lock on his emotions that it was nearly impossible to tell what he was thinking, but Pitch was in-tune with Jack's own fears enough to know that he _was_ afraid.

"Although human, she too has been gifted with extraordinary powers, hasn't she?" Pitch remarked. "Elsa sacrificed a great deal for the sake of her little sister. Not as much as you Jack. After all, _you_ died so _your _sister could live."

That might be true, Jack thought but he witnessed throughout the years as Elsa died a little every day inside so that Anna's life could be safe from herself. Her childhood had been sacrificed and short-lived by her own selflessness.

"Speaking of Elsa...," Pitch said, making a terrible face, like he was trying to smile but couldn't quite manage. "I think I hear her coming now."

* * *

Elsa barred one arm in front of her sister, stopping Anna from stepping any further into the orchard. In her other arm, she cradled Jack's staff.

"Wait here...no," Elsa decided instead. "Return back to the castle. You're not to come with me."

Anna eyed her worriedly. "What are you talking about?" she asked, trying not to sound too defensive. "You made me bring you this staff and now you're telling me I can't come see what this is all about?"

It was a fair question but frustration welled within Elsa's throat and she was firm insisting, "I told you to go back!" She waved her sister back towards the castle, unintentionally shooting sparks of ice in the direction and Anna caught a faint blast of the cold. Snow blew against the sleeve of her dress.

Elsa hid her hand firmly behind her back, a distraught expression lingering on her face. When she tilted her head towards her sister, she said, "I'm sorry, Anna."_ Let me protect you. _"You have to trust me."

And before her sister had a chance to argue, Elsa left her...

"Pitch!" she spoke the bogeyman's name sternly before the shadowy man turned towards her. In both hands she gripped firmly the staff. "It's here. I have it."

"Then be a good girl," Pitch said. His face was unexpressive and cold as stone but his hand was greedily extended. "And give it to me."

Elsa attempted to direct attention to Jack, who knelt on the ground behind Pitch. He looked absolutely _exhausted_, like he was barely hanging on. Though he did not bleed, he looked drained to the core of his soul. His dusty, white hair rippled in the wind like a tattered flag of surrender. Tortured eyes and cheekbones were lined with creases. He dragged an arm across his chest, as if his chest was literally aching inside him.

When Elsa turned her eyes back to Pitch, she stood her ground. "No."

Pitch cocked an eyebrow and grinned, slowly encircling Elsa, tendrils of shadows nipping at her feet. The closer her got, the more feelings of _fear_ consumed her, making her hands tightened around the staff until she couldn't take anymore.

Elsa released her hand to send a sheet of ice plummeting towards Pitch. She heard the crackling of her ice as if seeped onto Pitch's robes, spreading itself, quickly solidifying. Then she hurled another icy blast at Pitch, encasing a prism of ice around him. Stalagmites of ice rooted to the ground and blocked Pitch from getting and closer.

Elsa used the moment to her advantage. "Jack!" she called, trying desperately to catch the boy's attention. It caught Elsa off guard when he suddenly lunged at her.

As soon as Elsa hit the ground, the staff went spiraling in the air out of her grip.

"You thought that little trick was enough to stop the bogeyman?" Pitch whispered into her ear, fingers tightening around her throat at his eyes met the Snow Queen's. Despite Elsa's protests, she couldn't writhe herself free of the darkness that hovered about her. Pitch straddled her as he held her down.

Pitch moved to dodge an ice blast that whizzed past his head.

"Is that the best you've got?" he mocked her, dodging another blast of ice.

Elsa mustered a final yell in protest and managed to kick him from under her. Hard.

It seemed Pitch's _fun_ with her had come to an abrupt end. Tendrils of dark sand crept around her legs and hands, preventing her from thrashing. Shadows slithered around her hands and she was helpless to fight back. She couldn't even move.

Meanwhile Jack's chest heaving from an exertion of energy as he struggled to stand. Lying a few meters away was his unattended staff. Jack barely had much strength left, but _maybe_ it would be enough.

Jack stumbled making a grab for the staff. For the briefest moment, his fingers grazed the surface of the staff. He could feel its power being channeled warmly through his body but before the winter spirit could reclaim it, Pitch caught up to him. He knocked the staff out of his reach. Long gray fingers curled around the collar of his hoodie and Pitch lifted his head up by. Their noses were practically touching.

"Did you think I _wasn't _watching you?" Pitch asked him.

A dull pain throbbed through Jack, throbbing to the rhythm of his pulse. He bared his teeth, clawing at Pitch's arm trying to free himself. As Jack struggled, there was a moment of genuine surprise when he held Elsa was shouting at him.

"Jack!" she called, finally managing to break the shadowy bonds that held her wrists. Ice froze around the fused shadows cloaking her hands until the bonds eventually shattered. Her feet were still welded with unexplainable black sand, encasing her ankles like shackles. "JACK!"

That's when Pitch spoke in a voice, low and insinuating so only Jack would hear, "Didn't I tell you she would call your name?" With one hand, he easily held Jack at arms-length away and with the other, he turned the staff he now held over in his hand, letting it dangle in his grip as if it was of no consequence regarding what happened to it.

The laughter that peeled from Pitch was like that of a funeral bell, echoing through Jack's head, sounding more bitter in sound with each chuckle.

Then Pitch embedded his nail _deep_ into the length of his staff and scratched his nail across it, splitting a shallow crack into it.

_No pain in the world could ever be like this._

Jack wanted to scream but was able to keep himself from doing so the moment his gaze spilled across Elsa's face and at the sight of the terror in her eyes. Giving into the pain would only terrify her more. Pitch would only love that.

For her sake, Jack could _not _afford to scream.

"You took that surprisingly well," Pitch wondered aloud. The puzzled bogeyman caught a satisfied smirk on the boy's face then and knew that despite the pain he _knew _he was inflicting, Jack Frost still controlled the situation by not allowing Pitch the satisfaction of seeing his agony.

Infuriated by his resistance, Pitch slammed Jack hard into the ground. The blow caused Jack's back to arch in pain but Pitch quickly placed a firm foot over his stomach, flattening his back and keeping him pinned in the dirt where he belonged.

"You think you're that brave? That you're immune to fear. That you're immune _to me._ Is that it?" Pitch continued, weighing the sturdiness of Jack's staff in his hands. He paused, allowing what he had said to simmer in Jack's mind.

No answer came, but Pitch had not expected one. He knew Jack's nerves were fraying at the edges, coming undone. Pitch's thumb traced the length of Jack's staff and he gripped the bottom end of the Shepard's crook firmly in his hands and clenched it tight, threatening to snap it.

Pitch looked uncertain for a moment, the faintest touch of curiosity clenching his jaw. Then he twisted his hands and snapped a piece of the staff.

It was like a sudden, blinding pain stole the breath from Jack's lungs in an agonizing rush.

He screamed.

Jack bit his lip to quiet himself. His insides were on fire, pain ripping at him. He struggled to pry Pitch's ankle off him, but Pitch's foot ground against his stomach, threatening to crack his ribs. Jack was trembling. His heart was pounding so loudly in his ears that he almost couldn't hear Elsa shouting at him.

Jack tried to raise his head and in that moment, he heard Elsa heaved an unsteady breath that sudden suspiciously like a sob. When she took another shaking breath, there was no mistaking it. There were tears frozen slick and glossy on her cheeks.

The smile on Pitch's face, despite its mildness, was horrific to behold. "And didn't I tell you that I would make her cry and there would be nothing you could do to help her?" he reminded Jack cruelly. "I suppose that's left is for me to get rid of _you_—"

Something hard and unbearably cold struck Pitch under his jaw suddenly.

A sharp, ragged, serrated length of ice came down at an angle from the ground and separated Pitch from Jack. Then Elsa manipulated the ice to crash down on Pitch, thrusting him to the ground and trapping him under a barrier of ice.

Elsa swallowed hard, her stomach twisting at the sight of Jack's crumpled form on the ground.


End file.
